Monsters
The term Monster is applied to an extremely diverse array of species who are commonly descended from demons. During the days of the War at the Dawn, most Devils created their own servant races of demons. These demons in turn would breed with or corrupt the races indigenous to the Midplane. These creatures inherited their forebears infernal essence, albeit in an extremely diluted fashion. Perhaps the best known race of monsters are the Vampires. Vampires were originally a powerful Midplane race that the Fallen Goddess Lilith infused with demonic essence in order to turn them into soldiers against the Gods. After the War at the Dawn, the Monsters remained in the Midplane despite their demonic powers. The Gods generally hunted or otherwise controlled these races in order to prevent them from becoming problems. The Elder Dragons in particular slaughtered monsters wherever they found them, either destroying them outright or imprisoning them when they were too strong to completely eradicate. Therefore when Crash was looking for allies, they were quick to buy into his promises. When Crash overthrew the Elder Dragons and installed himself as God King of the Known Universe, he remained true to his word and did not persecute them. However, he also never followed through on any of the rewards he promised, and the Vampires managed to rally the various monster races into attacking the Gods. Crash and the Dragons were quick to put down this Rebellion though, and the monsters were largely driven back to the South Kingdom and trapped in a spatial prison called the Forbidden Zone under the watchful eye of the severe Cloak. While in general the most powerful monster were corralled into the Forbidden Zone, other weaker ones were able to escape and branch out across the Known Universe, though most remained congregated in what became called the Galaxy of Terror. Monsters typically exist in small nests spread throughout the galaxies terrorizing other races from the shadows. Most other races in the Midplane have a natural fear of Monsters and will seek to exterminate them when they encounter them. 'Physiology' Monsters exist in a dazzling array of body types and appearances. Like their demonic forefathers, monsters with a more humanoid body type tend to be more powerful and intelligent. Because of their demonic nature, monsters are vulnerable to White Magic sigils and seals. Reproduction amongs the various monster species depends upon which kind it is. While many monsters are capable of standard sexual reproduction, other Monsters drawing their power from Necromancy tend to increase their numbers by infecting and converting other organisms. Survivors of Werewolf attacks usually become werewolves themselves. Vampires are able to create other vampires by draining a victim of blood and then having the victim drink from them in turn. Rayploks will place fertalized eggs in other organisms to allow them to gestate there. If the host organism isn't killed by the birth then they have usually had they usually become slaves of the Rayplok they birthed. It is a common feature of monsters that when they die they turn to dust. 'Powers' While the specifics of their powers are generally tied to their physical types, Monsters are able to channel demonic Aura which tends to evoke a feeling of terror in other Midplane races. Like other Aura users, these Auras can be used to boost their natural abilities, sense the flow of energy around themselves, fly, etc. 'Personality' While some are more thoughtful than others, nearly all monsters are of an evil and savage disposition. Like the demons their descended from they have an inate love of chaos. 'Culture & Society' Different species of Monsters will behave differently. A common thing that happens though is that a higher breed of monster will have numerous lesser breeds under their command as minions. Vampires are generally understood to be an extremely high caste of monsters and typically rule over other monster types. 'Religion' Most monster races still worship powerful demons or devils that have come down to them through oral traditions and records. 'Monster Races' 'Vampires' Widely regarded as the strongest race of monsters, Vampires trace their origins back to the Fallen Goddess, Lilith. Upon finding a race of powerful bat-like creatures, she performed the demonic blood-rites on them which had been used on her, vastly increasing their power and intelligence. The strongest of them were even able to match the SS-Class power of the Gods, and she would use them as foot soldiers in her battles against the Dragon Clan. After she and the rest of the Devils were trapped behind the Barrier, she lost direct contact with her children though she could still communicate with them through astral projection. After a failed revolt against the Holy Dragons, the Vampires were trapped in a spatial prison called the Forbidden Zone and left to the mercies of the cruel Cloak. During this time, the vampires began dying out, so they passed their dark gift onto a tribe of humans who worshipped them. This tribe called itself Vampires after the original creatures and began worshipping Lilith as well. The True Vampires were humanoid creatures with bone white skin, black carapaces on their chests, tridactyl claws on their hands and feet and great bat-like wings on their backs. The humans that inherited their power tend to look much as they did in life, except that their skin turns a deathly shade of pale and their eyes become red. When they bare their fangs their faces twist into monstrous visages reminiscent of the True Vampires. The older they get, the more they resemble the True Vampires and they gradually lose the ability to resume their human faces. 'Werewolves' Werewolves are a breed of monster very similar to vampires and are believed to have been created using the same blood rites. However, where the first vampires were a race of bat-like creatures the first werewolves were lupine in nature. It is believed the original werewolves were massive creatures and it was only later that this curse was passed on to humans. Cursed humans are unable to die unless killed in very specific ways, and in their human forms are indistinguishable from normal living beings. In their wolf forms, werewolves are generally more powerful than vampires, but lack their agility and mental acuity. Indeed in their wolf forms, werewolves are generally little more than berserk beasts operating solely on instinct. Werewolves are highly allergic to silver and can be killed by it. 'Ghouls' Ghouls are undead monsters somewhat related to Vampires in that they are made from victims of vampire attacks. Beings who have been sucked completely dry by vampires take on a minute amount of the undead virus and are forever bound to the vampire that killed them. Powerful vampires are able to summon their previous victims as familiars, giving them form through necromancy and sending them against their enemies. Ghouls are little more than reanimated corpses, completely mindless and act only on instinct or the orders of their vampire masters. 'Goblins' Goblins are humanoid creatures with pink skin, black hair, horns and tiny black wings protruding from their backs. They have limited shapeshifting abilities which allow them to mimic other races and hide themselves. Trolls 'Rayploks' Rayploks are a particularly nasty breed of monster that will wear the skin of their victims and mimic them in order to attract others who they then either kill for food or impregnate with eggs to create more Rayploks. While they tend to be great menaces to most races, those that are able to channel Aura tend to regard them as nuissances. Rayploks have a vaguely humanoid shape with slimy green skin, mouths full of fangs and terrible claws. Their most distinctive feature though is a number of phallic tentacles which grow from their heads which they use to impregnate victims. 'Giants' Giants are descendents of Oni, and are massive humanoid creatures known for their great strength and slow minds. They tend to view anything smaller than themselves as food and will commonly devour smaller people. They come in a wide variety of sizes, with most averaging around 30 ft to colossal giants standing nearly 200 ft tall. Most giants have blue-grey skin. Leviathans Leviathans are the very strongest monsters possessing power on a truly cosmic scale. They traverse the expanse of space devouring stars and planets. Their origins are unknown, but they are the considered the oldest indigenous life forms in the Universe predating the emergence of Gods and possibly even Devils. Some believe they are believe they are the sentient manifestations of aspects of the Universe, sentient black holes given shape. Others say they were born of the aberrations caused by Lucifer during the weaving of Creation. Yet others believe they are the material shards of Outer Beasts. Leviathans possess no true shape as it is commonly understood, and every race will generally perceive them differently as their brains struggle to understand what they're looking at. To those who can see the true form of a Leviathan they generally see disembodied mouths full of fangs surrounded by swirling energy. While Leviathans possess a wide variety of features, they have several important aspects in common: their massive size, their incredible power, and their status as devourers. They are capable of channeling and manipulating vast amounts of cosmic energy to create any effect they wish. However, unlike the Grace of Gods or Fury of Devils, this power is not self perpetuating and must be replenished by consuming vast amounts of energy. 'Trivia' - Despite having many features in common with Monsters, the Sarans are regarded as an offshoot of the demonic race because they can claim direct descent from a Clan of Devils. - Earth possesses a rather startling amount of monster races which have been living alongside humans for thousands of years. Numerous monster hunting Orders sprang up in response, the best known being the Brotherhood of the Sword. - Full demons tend to look down on monsters as filthy half breeds.